2014 PDL XII Sea Island: USA Trounces UK 21-9

The 2nd International Ponce Matches were contested July 23-27, 2014 at Sea Island, GA over the Plantation, Retreat and Seaside courses.

The U.S. won a tightly contested Day 1 Four Ball 3.5-2.5 at Retreat.

Day Two saw the U.S. take control of Foursomes 4.5-1.5 at Plantation to take a 8-4 lead.

But it was the afternoon 18 Four Balls at Seaside where the Yanks ended any real hopes the Brits had at a comeback with a historic 6-0 sweep to take an insurmountable 14-4 lead.

Team USA won Singles 7-5 to claim the Conquistador helmet 21-9. The Americans were led by two players who went undefeated (4-0): Michael Aide and Wes Battle.

In a purely poetic ending, Chairman Palmore was trailing by 2 with 5 holes to play in singles against Brit Richard Moger. Palmore scratched back to tie the match on 17. The duel would be decided on 18. After making par, Palmore conceded a cagey par putt to Moger to halve the match. Although not as much on the line as the famous Nicklaus-Jacklin concession, the sportsmanship and spirit of the moment was evoked – what a fitting end to the competition!

The Ponce was proud to present a check at the Opening Ceremony for $2,000 to Scott Reid, Tournament Chairman of the PGA Tour’s McGladrey Classic to benefit the Davis Love III Foundation.

The Davis Love Foundation contributes to the well-being and progress of society by supporting both national and community-based programs that focus on children and their families. Headquartered in St. Simons Island, GA, the private Foundation provides a positive and far-reaching vehicle for creative solutions to social ills that affect children and their families. The ambitious mission of the Davis Love Foundation is to help build a better future for vulnerable children and their families who are at risk of poor educational, economic, social and health outcomes. The Foundation provides grants and donations to community-based programs that focus on children and families in need.

2014 Friends of the Ponce

Tom and Elizabeth Allen

About ten months prior to the contest, Chairman Michael Palmore began to speak to Tom Allen, a friend from Hampden-Sydney, about the upcoming tournament. Once Tom knew that Elizabeth and he would be in Sea Island the same time as our tournament, he graciously offered his cottage to host both teams on the Thursday evening of the Ponce De Leon Matches. We invited Tom and Elizabeth to the Opening Ceremonies at The Lodge the night before the team cookout to get to know the players.

There were five Hampden-Sydney guys in the tournament so there was a natural connection with the Allens, but what was even more fun is that Tom discovered many bonds with all members of Team USA and our friends from London. With Southern Soul catered BBQ, key lime pie (homemade by Elizabeth, drinks, and an amazing view, both teams had an exceptional time. It was a true highlight of the weekend. We are grateful the Allens are true friends of the Ponce!

Tony Jacklin – A hero for many of our friends from London, Mr. Jacklin had a storied international golf career. At the age of 24, Tony Jacklin joined Sea Island Golf Club as its touring pro. With Sea Island being the “home” of the Ponce, we felt a connection with Mr. Jacklin. When we had the first international match in 2012, we named the MVP of the UK team after Tony Jacklin.

For a little over a year leading up to the 2014 Ponce International Matches, Chairman Michael Palmore corresponded with Mr. Jacklin. Unfortunately, the timing of our tournament conflicted with The Open Championship and although he would be in Europe during the Ponce, Mr. Jacklin was kind enough to send us an autographed picture.

The picture was of “The Concession.” This was the famous 1969 Ryder Cup match between Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin. In one of the greater moments in sportsmanship, Jack gave Tony the final putt so they would halve a hard fought match. Mr. Jacklin wished us well by saying, “If you have half as much fun as we did, you’ll be just fine.” We proudly showcased this picture at our Opening Ceremonies joking that we would have more fun than they did, but our level of golf wouldn’t even be close.

Scott Reid is the Tournament Chairman of the PGA Tour’s McGladrey Classic, held annually on the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club. Along with John McKenzie (Director of Sales of the tournament), Scott attended the Opening Ceremonies at the 2014 Ponce de Leon Matches (USA vs. Great Britain at Sea Island). We selected the Davis Love Foundation as our annual Ponce charity – and this is the first organization to have been selected twice by our group (2010 as well). The Davis Love Foundation is the host organization for the McGladrey Classic, and the proceeds from the Foundation serve to benefit the local Boys & Girls Club, and the local Special Olympics chapter in the Brunswick-Golden Isles communities. We were proud to present Scott Reid and the fine folks at McGladrey with our modest, yet heartfelt, contribution.

Jim Stahl is the founder of the Jones Cup, which is one of the top amateur golf tournaments in the United States – held annually at Ocean Forest Golf Club on Sea Island. He was gracious enough to serve as our keynote speaker at the 2014 Ponce de Leon Matches (USA vs. Great Britain at Sea Island). Neil Thomson was introduced to Mr. Stahl through his father-in-law, Dr. Richard Tyler, who –as it turns out – grew up on the same street in Cincinnati where Mr. and Mrs. Stahl now reside. Mr. Stahl is the 1995 U.S. Senior Amateur Champion and all 20 Ponce golfers were honored to have met him out on the Lodge lawn during the Opening Ceremonies. He regaled us with stories of childhood junior golf matches versus Jack Nicklaus, and also unveiled the exciting news that the champion of the 2015 Jones Cup would receive a special invitation to play in the 2015 McGladrey Classic field. The British players were especially excited to learn of Mr. Stahl’s unique and respected position as the only American member at Royal Lytham & St. Anne’s.

The Fountain of Youth Blog – Recent Ponce News

April 10, 2019
Fellow Poncers:
I
have been waiting for a number of months to share this news.
There
is no better time than the eve of the 83rd Masters, and just two days after
UVA’s historic NCAA Basketball Championship.
The
Ponce de … [Read More...]

Chairman - Patrick McManamy
The Ponce returns to its January MLK date for the first time since 2009. The Ponce was held in January for its first seven years from 2003-009.
The site will be announced soon. … [Read More...]

CHAMPIONS,AWARDS, RECORDS AND PLAYER STATS

Each year, the players compete for the Fountain of Youth Cup, MVP trophy, Spirit Award and most recently the Wooden Spoon.

Click here to learn more about who has won these titles, about the records and stats for all players.

ABOUT US

Since 2003, the Ponce De Leon Invitational Golf tournament has taken place annually all over America and once in Europe in Saint Andrews.

“The Ponce” was a story about 16 buddies and set quite a precedent. I’ve always said that The Ponce…and with the competitive format put together by Neil Thomson and his friends, is the type of trip I would like to plan one day for all of my brothers and friends. I do buddies trips, just not at Ponce level.” –Matt Ginella, Travel Editor, Golf Digest (2008)